San Clemente, ranked No. 1 in California by Maxpreps.com, had only two shots on goal during Thursday’s CIF-SS Division 1 boys soccer quarterfinal. But both shots turned into first-half goals and the visiting Tritons survived steady Braves pressure in the second half and advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 win.

San Clemente senior captain Bryce Kaminski scored in the 39th minute in what turned out to be the winning goal after junior Tony Orihuela converted a penalty kick for the Braves just past the hour mark.

“We didn’t even see it coming,” St. John Bosco head coach Dave Sabet said of Kaminski’s impressive, 40-yard shot. “The vision and risk was phenomenal. You usually don’t see that at the high school level.

“I couldn’t be more proud with how we played in the second half.”

St. John Bosco, trailing 2-0 to start the second half, constantly pushed numbers forward. The Braves out-shot the the Tritons 7-2 in the final 40 minutes and earned five corner kicks. San Clemente goalkeeper Cole Martinez had four saves, including a crucial one in the 68th minute when senior Anthony Markarian’s shot was tipped just over the crossbar.

“They just kept coming,” San Clemente head coach Michael Pronier said of the Braves’ attack in the second half. “I think we lost our composure a little bit and that’s just a credit to their pressure.

“In some ways, I feel good about just surviving that.”

The first shot of the game was the first goal and came off a set piece in the 13th minute. San Clemente stationed six players around the ball and had a quick discussion before breaking quickly. One of those players was Blayne Martinez, who moved toward the back post. Santiago DiGiuseppe sent in an accurate service and Martinez scored on a header.

St. John Bosco junior Josh Hernandez drew a foul in the penalty area that led to Orihuela’s penalty kick. In four other incidents Braves players were taken down, but no fouls were called.

Adrian Vera was tackled from behind two minutes before the final whistle after he took a pass from Martinez, but no foul was called on that play, either.

“We had more opportunities, so it’s not just that,” Sabet said of the play. “But it was simply missed.”

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About the Author

JJ Fiddler is a sportswriter and videographer who has been covering the Long Beach-area sports world for multiple newspapers since 2004. After attending Long Beach State and creating the first full sports page at the Union Weekly Newspaper, he adopted Long Beach as his home town and is a member of the Long Beach Century Club, where he is a two-time winner of the Keith Cordes Award for best promotion of the city through sports. Reach the author at jj.fiddler@langnews.com
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